I need a math check for reload vs. factory 45 Auto

[Lost Sheep]

Welcome to a fine madness

cfullgraf]
If you leave the cases on the ground, reloading is a waste of your time.

What the heck???

Your comment doesn’t make any sense.

If I leave my brass on the ground at the range then I can’t reload it can I?

Quite right, the use of the word "reloading" does not make any sense. Substitute the word "loading" and it makes perfect sense. As you point out, it is only the re-use of the brass multiple times that makes loading your own makes economic sense (for some cartridges more than others). Of course, as others have pointed out, it is not only about economics. Some find pleasure in the process and others find they can craft better ammo than they can buy at any price.

This is madness...all madness.

And a fine madness it is:banghead: ranging from frustrating to beatifying.

But if you really want cost-calculating madness, visit this thread:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=663065
I developed a spreadsheet to figure in component cost, equipment cost, my startup (learning) time's cost and processing time cost. It was fun for me and I hope you may enjoy it, too. Maybe even expand on it.

(To those who decry counting time's cost for a hobby, I would like to point out that crunching numbers is also one of my hobbies. Don't trash the pleasure I get from my hobbies and I won't take offense.)

Lost Sheep

 

[cfullgraf]

If you leave the cases on the ground, reloading is a waste of your time.

I guess if the case has not been loaded before, it is tough to "reload" it.

How about...

"If you leave the cases on the ground, hand loading them is a waste of time."


On reflection, maybe the OP is looking for a source of cases to reload. Sometimes buying factory ammunition and "unloading" it at the range can be an economical source of cases for hand loading versus buying factory new, empty cases.

 

[BSA1]

With the Banic being largely over I am working on restocking my reloading components, mainly brass and powder with some primers that I really don't need and do some hoarding for the next panic. Since brass is pretty much widely available I am going to work on stocking it up while hoping the powder crunch ends by mid-summer.

I do most of my reloading during the winter. Yesterday was cold and rainy and today we have a strong Northwind with current windchill of 4 below zero and light snow. Yesterday was spent reloading 9mm and today 38 Special.

Next month we have a large gun show which is when I stock up on cast bullets. Now that my wife has become more interested in shooting I am going through a lot more 38's so I am going to be working on reloading all of my 38 Special brass this week. We shoot a lot of cast lead bullets.

Anyway in the course of inventorying for the upcoming gun show I got to thinking about loading a large volume of 45 Auto with FMJ bullets. This is actually a project I have been wanting to do for quite so time but have never got around to it. No real excuse as I have the dies and shellholder for my Progressive Press. While searching the Internet for brass and jacketed bullets I was struck by the close cost of factory ball vs. me loading my own. However thanks to some of the great replies to this thread I now have some venders to get components at a much better cost.

Thanks again guys for the tips.

 

[orionengnr]

What the heck???
Your comment doesn’t make any sense.
If I leave my brass on the ground at the range then I can’t reload it can I?
Again my post is not about how many times I can reload brass. It is about cost comparison of assembling ammunition with all new components vs. buying new factory ammo.

His comments make perfect sense.

Your math is predicated on using the brass once...that is why your cost per round is so high. Using the brass once is the same as leaving it laying on the ground.

If you are talking about putting together 1000 rounds and never shooting it, then yes, buy the factory ammo.

However, if you are talking about ammo in the way most of us do, take that brass cost and divide it by 10...or 20, and run your numbers again. Then you get a meaningful cost of reloads vs. factory ammo.

I put together .45acp for about $6.00 per 50 round box, but you do not seem to have much interest in lead bullets.

Fine. You can still put together .45 acp for about half of factory ammo using plated, or a bit more with FMJs. If you can't, you are not trying very hard...

 

[Toprudder]

Since we are talking about 45 acp, and it has been mentioned several times that one option is to shoot factory ammo to get your supply of brass to reload, be aware that some 45acp brass are small primers, while the "standard" are large primer. Just be sure what you are getting, if primer size is important to you.

Some Federal, and all Blazer, (and a few others) are small primer.

I use them all, but obviously have to sort them. I've gotten in the habit of using small magnum primers in 45 acp since they are closer to the energy in large primers.

 

[BSA1]

I use large primer only. Small primer brass goes into the scrap bucket.

 

[Lost Sheep]

Why has no one posed this link?

This is merely one. There are several good ones on the internet to help in figuring your cost of reloaded ammo.

http://www.handloads.com/calc/loadingCosts.asp

Several years ago, I bought a couple bricks of 45 ACP where the cost of bullets, brass, primer and powder to make my own was actually higher than the price for the factory ammo. But that is a rare instance.

Lost Sheep

 

[BSA1]

Your math is predicated on using the brass once...that is why your cost per round is so high. Using the brass once is the same as leaving it laying on the ground.

No it doesn’t.

Again my question is not about how many times I can reload a brass case.

I want 1,000 loaded rounds of 45 Auto ammunition with 230 gr. FMJ bullets.

In order to have 1,000 loaded rounds I need to have 1,000 rounds of brass. It can be one of three choices; Already loaded factory, new brass only or used brass. I do not want to use other metal substitutes such as zinc, steel or aluminium although ammunition using these types of metals do offer a significant one time cost savings.

If you are talking about putting together 1000 rounds and never shooting it, then yes, buy the factory ammo.

Since you have not read my posts I will repeat my relevant comments;

Post #1: “I reload. I reload a lot. I rarely shoot factory ammo. 98% of my handgun ammunition I use lead bullets and I recycle my brass until the cases split.”

Post 15;

yeah buy used range brass and divide that by at-least 8 for .45 acp. also use cheap bullets or cast. powder can be cheap 7000 gr. per pound

"Reread my original post. Already do that. Coffee cans full of used brass and RNL bullets."

Post 25; "To clarify. I have two reloading presses on my bench. I have reloaded 10's of thousands of rounds."

I put together .45acp for about $6.00 per 50 round box, but you do not seem to have much interest in lead bullets.

That is correct. I do not want to use cast bullets for this particular project. I want to use 230 gr. jacketed full metal round nose bullets.

Fine. You can still put together .45 acp for about half of factory ammo using plated, or a bit more with FMJs. If you can't, you are not trying very hard...

Ding! Ding! Ding! That is what the topic of the thread is about.

American Eagle from SG Ammo runs .36 cents a round. Using the venders others have mentioned I can get the components total cost about .30 cents with powder being the big unknown cost. The cost is higher if I use Starline brass which I think most consider to be the best.

Please post how I can reload using new brass and jacketed bullet for .18 cents a round.

 

[BigBore45]

You can load for .22 cents a round excluding shipping which would be free from MBC. here is the layout also max charge so you could save more.


Bullets:MBC- 200gr. .452 rnfp $41 per 500

Powder: Powder Vally- Alliant Promo 5.2 gr charge: $123 for 8lbs ( high by 20 buck to split with hazmat of primers)

Primers: any at $40 per 1000( way high to cover hazmat) Powder vally is $27 for 1000 CCI Large pistol primers.

Brass: Crown bullet company- once fired Large primer range brass- $88 per 1000

Total allotted for hazmat $33 (typical hazmat is $28.50)

that is without reusing brass. find it all locally but the bullets with free shipping and the brass shipping at $5 and your reloading with newly acquired brass at .21 cents per round.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Lots of calculating here on stuff the OP doesn't want....I think he should just buy a case of ammo to his spec and be done with it.

 

[BigBore45]

Lots of calculating here on stuff the OP doesn't want....I think he should just buy a case of ammo to his spec and be done with it.

he was wondering if it was worth it to just buy factory to acquire brass. it is still cheaper to buy once fired however by .10 cents or more.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

He can buy primed, unfired Federal brass from RMR for 75 bucks per thousand shipped if he is willing to buy 4k......Seems like such a good deal, that I ordered 4k myself.

 

[cfullgraf]

Ding! Ding! Ding! That is what the topic of the thread is about.

American Eagle from SG Ammo runs .36 cents a round. Using the venders others have mentioned I can get the components total cost about .30 cents with powder being the big unknown cost. The cost is higher if I use Starline brass which I think most consider to be the best.

Please post how I can reload using new brass and jacketed bullet for .18 cents a round.

I think the problem is that you have asked a question without enough information. You obviously have a specific purpose in mind for the FMJ ammunition but all the responders are assuming that you will rotate it into your normal shooting rotation.

More specific information on what your plans are would probably get better answers and responses.

 

[BigBore45]

I think he just wants to mess with every Reloader on here, it is simple to do the math and his math is fine. If he wants to look at it like that with those kinda components and argue with other people that's fine but I'm done with this thread. taking new top of the line components vs. junk federal factory loads. apples to oranges anyways.

 

[choppinlow]

.45 is cheap to load. Brass is all over for free and common. Cast the bullets (45 likes lead) and it is one of the cheapest

 

[BSA1]

Jeez...all I did is ask a simple question about cost of American Eagle 45 FMJ ammunition compared to the best price for new components (i.e brass and bullet), primer and powder.

Thanks to some of the replies I now know about some venders that are worth checking out. Even just saving a nickel a round can add up to big savings with 5,000 rounds.